Never worked in a hospital, now want to agency there....??

Hello fellow nursing professionals. I have 5 years as a subacute/Long Term care BSN nurse who has recently begun work for an Agency/Home Health Business. They want me to work at a local hospital on the med surg or Telemetry units. I am skeptical that I would even survive in this environment. I have never worked in a hospital. What do you think? I would love to get a taste of the hospital environemnt but am not willing to go back to weekends and swing shifts, so working directly for the hospital is out for now. My kids are more important. I have already paid my dues with that type of schedule. I also have the credentials as wound care coordinator, infection control coordinator, nursing assessment coordinator. staff development coordinator and Director of Nursing. Thanks for any replies.

Lisa: If the population where you live supports it, you might want to specialize in wound care. You could do both the hospital and in home.

Apr 30, '01

Mustang does have a good point. We have a wound/ostomy nurse in our hospital and she is an invaluable asset to our setting.

If you do want to try the hospital setting, make sure you get a half decent orientation. From the experience you quote, you will be needing it. You might even try an on-call position for a little while as they tend to get more orientation time than agency nurses. Most hospitals give you the ability to control when you work when you are on call.